Description

Ora E. “Andy” Anderson was a journalist living in Southeastern Ohio during the Great Depression. In this oral history, 93-year- old Ora recalls the environmental and social conditions that led to the establishment of the Wayne National Forest and our evolving relation- ship with the land. Along with historical photographs and emotionally evocative music by Bruce Dalzell, Ora’s first- hand account gives life to a significant chapter of American history with clarity, hope and a uniquely Appalachian perspective.

A Forest Returns: The Success Story of Ohio’s Only National Forest has been an of cial selection in nineteen film festivals and has won nine top awards, including best documentary in the 2005 Appalachian Film Festival and best non-broadcasting in the Montana CINE International Film Festival.

Produced by Jean Andrews and Steve Fetsch, music by Bruce Dalzell

“ If I have any influence at all on the Wayne (National Forest) from time to time, it is based upon my long years of perspective and my vocally emotional approach to saving as much of that as we can. I preach this sort of thing. I’m an evangelist!”
– Ora Anderson in A Forest Returns

“Given the economic and environmental crises we face today, A Forest Returns reminds us that we have been down this road before and, further, that visionary leadership and hard work have the potential to see us through again.”
– Geoff Buckley, Associate Professor of Geography, Ohio University